A Thousand Years To Come
by TheWhiteRose112796
Summary: What you believe to be forever yours can disappear quickly. Whether it's a keepsake from your past, a memory you swore to never forget, or the life of the only person that loved you with their entire being. The hardest thing to do is acknowledge the loss and move on with your life, but there are times that you need to be pushed off that cliff of fear and into the depths of reality.
1. The Sanctity Of A Mother's Embrace

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 1: The Sanctity of A Mother's Embrace

"_Mama! Mama! I did it! I got to the top of the tree this time without your help, and I got the biggest apples ever!"_

_Kushina quickly put on a bright smile as the small boy rushed into the room with his arms full of apples. He placed them on the bed beside her and scurried up the side, giggling as he sat before her. He was so small for a four year old. His yukata was large on him, falling off of one shoulder. She even had to stitch up the bottoms so he wouldn't slip on them all the time._

"_See? This one is for you. It's shaped like a heart!" He outstretched the red apple to her, his blue eyes peeking over as he waited for her approval._

"_That's wonderful, Naruto," she said brightly, causing his eyes to brighten as she accepted the apple from him. He took his own as she lifted her unnaturally pale hand, gently caressing his furry ears as his tail swayed excitedly to mimic his chattering about his adventures out in the woods._

_Her son had the blood of a fox demon in him._

_She had been completely shocked when she had given birth to the boy with his golden ears and white tipped tail. He looked like his father, yes, but she would have never suspected such a thing to happen. She had believed the tales about the animal demons lurking in the woods were only fables, meant to enchant children with the unknown so that they would no longer fear the forest life that surrounded their homes._

_After he had been born she had tried her hardest to hide his ears in hats and tail in his bottoms, but it had been too hard, and when someone nearly got a glimpse of him, she had retreated to the woods in the middle of the night and taken to an abandoned house there. Getting it back into shape by herself had been difficult, but somehow she managed, and Naruto had grown believing that his ears and tail were nothing out of the ordinary._

"_Mama? Did chu heawr?" He attempted to speak around the apple in his mouth as his ears twitched curiously and he swallowed heavily. "You look tired, Mama."_

_Kushina quickly smiled once more. "I'm completely fine. Why don't you tell me about what else happened today?" Naruto frowned, but soon he moved to rest at her side and relay his stories to her until he soon fell asleep._

_Only then did Kushina submit to the pain that filled her aching chest._

**-A Thousand Years To Come-**

_He didn't know why, but his Mama never got out of bed anymore._

_Naruto as curious as to why as he peeked at his sleeping mother from the side of the bed, his ears drooping as her breathing remained labored and sweat ran down her face. He often woke earlier than she did and found her this way, but he had never had the courage to ask why. He didn't want to upset her and accidentally make her worse._

_So he tried his hardest to stay quiet and let her rest. Maybe that would get rid of the dark circles under her eyes._

_His eyes widened slightly when she shifted, the boy relaxing again when she remained asleep. Perhaps if she ate something other than apples she wouldn't be so pale. Then her cheeks would turn red when she smiled again._

_He grew excited at the thought. Surely, that would make her happy!_

_Naruto quickly and quietly left the room, closing the door softly behind him before he grabbed his mother's gathering basket and headed into the bright forest surrounding their home. He liked going outside in the morning the most, where there was only him, the birds, and the tiny critters that waited for him to find them in their burrows and tree trunks._

_His eyes brightened when he found a patch of plants growing in the wild. "Vegetables!" He rushed over and began sniffing at each green growing from the ground. He found a ripe one!_

_He gripped the plant and pulled with all his might before he fell on his behind, coming away with a sweet onion. He didn't know if his Mama liked them, but he'd take a few and look for more._

_His nose was his greatest asset. They led him to berries and fruit trees and vegetables his mother used to pick all the time before she stopped going out. When he reached his limit in weight, Naruto decided that it was time to head back home. He met a few animals along the way: rabbits to share his carrots with and squirrels snooping around his berries. Naruto didn't mind sharing, but sometimes he wondered if they were listening to what he had to say or were just following him for food._

_When he made it back he carried the basket into his home and headed straight for his mother's room, where she released a relieved sigh at the sight of him._

"_I told you not to leave without telling me. I was worried sick about you." He quickened his step as he sat the basket on the floor._

"_But I wanted to get you better food. I thought that it would make you feel better so that your face will turn red again when you smile and the circles will go away And your pretty red hair will be bright again." He gestured to under his eyes for emphasis making Kushina fighting a frown. She should have known that he would notice. Naruto was a smart child._

_She began to speak, but her words were caught in her throat when a rough cough erupted form her chest. Naruto watched wide-eyed as her body shook with the force of the movement, her hand covering her mouth as she squeezed her eyes shut in pain. He gasped when he saw red running through her fingers._

"_Mama!"_

"_Don't worry—" She was cut off once more. "Leave the room, Naruto. I'm alright."_

_Despite her reassurances through her coughing, Naruto couldn't look away as he watched the dark red substance leave her hands and drip down onto the blankets, increasing by the second. His Mama was sick. That was why she looked so bad._

"_Mama, what do I do? What do I do, Mama?" His chest heaved in fear. _Was_ there anything he could do? He had never been placed in a situation like this. It had never crossed his mind that it could happen at all._

"_Water. Bring me water, Naruto." Her demand calmed him slightly. Now he knew what to do in the future. The small boy raced out of the room and out to the front of their home where the small water spout resided. He pumped the valve with all the strength he could muster, his vision blurring with tears as he filled the bucket beside him halfway before hefting its weight and racing back inside._

_Upon his arrival he found the bedroom door closed. Hadn't he left it open?_

"_Mama?" He tried to push the door open, but it wouldn't budge. His breathing quickened as his tears came faster and the bucket slipped from his hands. "Mama! The door! Hurry!"_

_No matter how hard he tried to push the door open it wouldn't budge, as if something had placed itself before it. He hadn't realized that he had wet himself in fear, his thoughts filled with how he had failed his mother._

"_Naruto…listen to me." His breath caught in his throat at his mother's hoarse voice from the opposite side of the door._

"_Mama…"_

"_I want you to do something for me. You have to leave." His eyes widened as his sobs broke through, but she didn't stop speaking. "Do you remember the place I told you to stay away from?"_

_The small boy had to swallow hard to find his voice. "The bad village?"_

"_Yes, Naruto. I told you that it was bad, but I just wanted to keep you safe. Some people there wouldn't be kind to a child like you. That's why I warned you so many times..., but I want you to go there and ask for a woman named Tsunade. Hide your ears and tail until you find her, and I want you to stay with her. Don't come back here anymore, and everything will be all right. Don't try to come into this room, and don't let anything get you down. You'll grow up to be strong and I'll always be with you, even if you never see me in person."_

"_But…but why? I thought you wanted me to help you, Mama…"_

"_Don't cry anymore, Naruto. If you do as I say, you'll help me more than needed."_

_Despite her words he couldn't move an inch. Leave her here? Forever…?_

_Despite his silence she knew that he was still there. Through her shuddering breaths she spoke one more time._

_"Listen, Naruto. There are some important words I want to tell, only to the men who compliment my hair… Naruto…will you hear them?" He rubbed at his eyes, with the sleeves of his yukata, waiting for her to continue._

_"__I __**love**__ you.__Thank you for letting me be your mother. Thank you for being my son. Thank you…"_

_It felt as if his world had crashed down around him, as if he saw everything for as it was for the first time in his life. Why was she saying this now? Was this her way of saying goodbye…?_

"…_I love you too, Mama…"_

_There was no response._

_With tears born anew, Naruto ran from the house, not once looking back as the woods accepted him into the melancholy darkness that shielded his gaze from the reality surrounding him._


	2. Fox Fur

A/N: So...my first review was a flame...

I was revising my first chapter and decided to add this in. I don't really mind since everyone has their opinion and it doesn't really get to me. It actually made me laugh. Anyone who has the audacity to call someone a stupid f**k because they dislike things other people don't will always be thought irrelevant to me. I thanked them anyway though. It was nice to laugh at someone who doesn't even know how to capitalize OR use punctuation and wants to call_ someone else_ stupid. I don't really care to take it down. I'll accept their criticism and keep writing the story because I wrote it for **MYSELF**. Thank you, God-ShadowEx100, for making me laugh and giving me my first flame here on Fanfiction. It was a pleasure to get that type of emotion out of you.

Also, I'm not used to depicting harsh, spiteful characters, so please don't be upset if I depict Kyuubi too kind at times. As you can tell, this is my first AU fic that's not about OCs and romance.

Chapter 2: Fox Fur

The rain had finally stopped.

Red eyes flickered like burning flames as they looked out amongst the calm silence of the wooded area surrounding the cave. It wasn't that he didn't like rain. He just preferred not to get his fur wet.

The being was larger than a bear, with red-orange fur and nine full tails that swayed behind it as if they possessed a life of their own. Any who had laid their eyes on such a being would believe that they were hallucinating; there were not any creatures that could hold such beauty.

Not that any human had seen.

In one of his tails he held a glowing orb, his hoshi no tama, a symbol of what he truly was. No one person had lived long enough to relay the tale of the beautiful fox that haunted the woods hidden in plain sight. He wouldn't like to have humans ruining his forest with their hunting, littering, and peculiar smell. He thought himself as a guardian of this woods, one that wouldn't hesitate to devour any living thing that he didn't like.

He left the cave and stepped into the dim afternoon light, contemplating what he would prefer to catch for dinner when the wind blew a sudden smell his way he took to the trees quickly. This wasn't any animal he recognized. Flaming red eyes watched closely for any sign of movement when the sudden shaking of a bush near the tree he hid in drew his attention. It was just as he suspected.

A human.

It appeared no more than five as it moved deeper into the woods, its arms full of red apples. How could he walk so freely in such a place—?

The fox's eyes widened when the small thing stopped, lifting his gaze to the tree above him. There was no possible way that he had sensed him!

This gave him the chance to take in the small boy's face beneath the hat he wore on his head. Blonde hair and blue eyes…the features weren't native to this part of the country, but his face seemed somewhat familiar…

The boy frowned before he looked away and continued to walk away, but now that he had seen him, the fox was much too curious as to what this child was up to. He sensed no other humans around. Perhaps…

The fox looked back the way he came. This wasn't good at all.

He leapt from the tree and landed without a sound on the ground, keeping his distance yet being sure that the boy was still in sight. Every now and then the child would stop and look behind him, as if aware that something was following him. Indeed, there was.

The fox followed him discretely, stalking through the woods as only a natural predator would. He had centuries of steal and strength within his body. He rushed ahead at the boy's left before lowering his front half, as if preparing to attack. Even if he did notice, the child wouldn't be able to get away. He watched him near before an apple slipped from his arms and rolled back a few steps, his blue gaze following it before he scurried over to pick it up.

-Fox Fur-

This was the first time that Naruto had gone outside so late in the day.

He hadn't had the will to leave the house much lately, but hunger got the best of him and he soon left his home in search of the apple tree he and his mother had survived off of for a long while.

He had picked the reddest he could find, as red as he remembered his Mama's being, and decided to hurry home before he got lost in the night. He hadn't been able to stay in the woods when shadows grew longer by the minute. He was afraid of the dark.

He glanced behind him once more. This hat made it really hard to hear, but he felt like something was following him. His ears shifted beneath his hat as he tightened his tail around his waist beneath his old yukata. His Mama always said he imagined things too much. Maybe that was it.

He gasped softly when an apple fell from his arm, his gaze following it until it bumped into a rock and went still. Naruto stepped over to the apple as he shifted his batch to one arm,

He lowered a hand and took it into his hand when a bloodcurdling growl pierced through the air and a large gray wolf shot towards him.

He fell back with a scream as a red blur shot from the side and took the wolf with it. It was the largest fox he had ever seen.

Naruto watched in shock as the brawl played out before him. Claws broke skin and fangs pierced flesh. The gray fur was now stained red. It was a while before a particularly menacing snarl snapped him out of his shock. He quickly collected as much of his fruit as he could and ran as far as his feet would carry him and never looked back once.

The wolf jerked away with a yelp of pain when teeth latched onto his front leg and a snap echoed through the woods. The fox released him with a warning growl and the wolf took off back the way he came with a limp in his step. Naruto hadn't stayed long to see the end.

-Fox Fur-

It wasn't long before the fox followed the human child's scent to a small house with trees shielding it from view. He circled it slowly. It was quite rundown. He couldn't have been staying here, could he?

A while passed and still the child did not emerge. The fox soon grew restless. Perhaps this was where he lived. He moved towards the house and peered into the window. Sure enough, the place was a complete mess. There were areas where the ceiling and walls had caved in, as a result of a strong storm or something like it. It wasn't safe for anyone, let alone a tiny human.

The boy wasn't within the living room, and there were no signs of movement at all. He would have thought that the boy only passed through if not for the source of the scent he had been following growing stronger within. The fox found this stalking thing was actually quite enjoyable. It kept his unease from his mind. So he shrank in size, to that of a regular fox, and gracefully moved into the house.

He avoided broken boards and glass that rested on the floor as he kept to the shadows, only taking note of the smell when he reached a short hall.

The smell of death filled this place.

It was obvious that someone had died here. He wasn't sure how he managed to live through the horrible stench.

He moved to the end of the hall and straightened slowly, stepping lightly on his two feet as his gaze searched the small space littered with wood. With the scent of the child his red gaze landed upon a bundle beneath a white tattered blanket. He nudged it gently with his foot and got no response, but he could see movements of breathing there if he watched it long enough. He stared, unable to completely comprehend why he was here of all places.

As he knelt a slightly tanned hand reached out and slowly pulled the blanket down, and red eyes held the sight of a much smaller boy than he had imagined.

He lay curled into himself on nothing but the cold floor, covered in dirt and what appeared to be the juices from the apple cores that lay further away from him. This was quite a surprise. He hadn't really seen a child up this close before, but he was sure that not all of them would be alone at this age. He tilted his head to the side, red locks following as he reached out and carefully took the hat from the boy's head. His eyes widened.

Golden ears twitched at the top of his head, the telltale symbol of a young kitsune child. The fox couldn't believe his eyes. He pulled the blanket away completely, watching the boy shift as a golden tail curled around his small waist. It couldn't be.

It was then that he realized why these features were so familiar to him. This face belonged to one of the many personas he had taken on before. He would recognize it anywhere. It was the longest guise he had done. Could that mean that this was his…he refused to acknowledge it.

When the boy began to shiver he placed the blanket on him once more, taking sight of the apples before the door the boy slept near. He carefully stepped over the boy and stopped before it, a frown marring his face. He had most likely left them there for someone, but by the smell from within, the fox knew that there was no one alive inside. He glanced at the boy once more before looking around at his surroundings. This place would cave in any day now. The boy would be crushed if he stayed here any longer.

The fox placed his hands within the sleeves of his yukata. Perhaps he could take him to a village. He could make it before the boy woke up if he was careful. But there weren't many people that would accept a child that appeared to be the offspring of a fox spirit…

He was lost in thought up until the point that a wooden board fell free from the ceiling, nearly landing on the boy before the fox caught it. He tossed it away, the noise causing the boy to shift where he lay. What would have happened if he hadn't been here?

His conscience got the best of him and he soon caved in himself. He carefully wrapped the sleeping child in his blanket as he lifted him into his arms and tried the door to the room. Something was blocking it, and he wasn't willing to disturb what lay on the other side. He looked down at the boy. He didn't know who would take in such a child, but he didn't have long to search.

The fox headed back the way he came, climbing out of the window swiftly while being aware of the child's form as he rounded the house. He found the window to the blocked room and took it all in. The body must have been there for days.

He didn't have to look long to realize whom that long red hair belonged to before noting that same face and eye shape. He didn't wonder about the origins of this child anymore.

With a tightened hold on the small human in his arms, the fox contemplated what would happen next.


End file.
